MetroPCS

The Sharing Economy: How the Hospitality Industry Can Continue to Thrive in the 21st Century

With the new sharing economy, technology has enabled a new independent workforce of individuals willing to rent, or provide services at a rapid pace. You can now pick up a cell phone at the drop of a hat and order a ride or book a weekend in someone else’s apartment, causing increased disruption to traditional hospitality or retailer models. While this has added convenience to the lives of many everyday people, it continues to push businesses to quickly adapt to consumer’s needs and preferences - or become obsolete. So what can hotels and resorts do to ensure they stay relevant in today’s economy, keep loyal customers, and attract new guests? Key strategies lie within robust talent management practices. Organizations must create an unforgettable guest experience by cultivating an engaged and enthusiastic workforce. By attracting, developing and retaining the best staff, hospitality organizations can ensure customers of all types have an exceptional experience they can count on. Ensure leisure travelers have an experience they would recommend Whether traveling on a long overdue family vacation or lounging by the pool– customer service is of the utmost importance to ensure a positive experience for all guests. In today’s sharing economy, one visit is no longer just one visit, as reviews can live online indefinitely. A customer is nearly 2x more likely to share their poor experience over a good one yet, a positive recommendation is most likely to get a consumer to try a new company, over a promotion, sale, or even brand reputation (Note1). Never has been "getting it right" more vital. To do so, organizations need a recruiting strategy that helps you find, evaluate and hire the right people that are willing to go the extra mile for your guests. Keep business travelers loyal with consistency and convenience The life of a road warrior can be stressful and unfamiliar. Providing business travelers with a consistent and comfortable experience allows them to focus on getting the job done. Hiring the right employees and training them to meet the needs of the business traveler is critical in capturing this repeat business. Regular onboarding practices, ongoing staff training, and structured employee performance measurement are instrumental talent management strategies which help promote consistency and maintain your brand’s expectation of quality across establishments and franchises. Drive financial success with operational efficiency Now, more than ever, efficiency has become the key word in the hotel industry. As revenues are impacted, employees are required to wear multiple hats and juggle more tasks than ever. Cross-training employees not only helps organizations to operate in a lean manner, but also aids in managing staff shortages or peak-season demand. Companies that utilize e-learning tools see up to 50% higher productivity andfor every $1 spent, an estimated $30 worth of productivity is received (Note 2). Clearly, investing in developing employees has huge ROI and is critical to driving operational excellence. Creating a memorable experience for the leisure traveler, a consistent experience for the business traveler, and focusing on operational efficiency are three pivotal ways to ensure your organization’s longstanding success. While a sharing economy has shaken up the hospitality industry, hiring the right people and effectively developing and engaging them, remain the key components to succeeding in the changing world. Visit us here for some additional ideas about how to cultivate exceptional customer experiences in today’s sharing economy. Sources: Note 1: http://about.americanexpress.com/news/docs/2014x/2014-global-customer-se... Note 2: https://elearningindustry.com/top-10-e-learning-statistics-for-2014-you-...

The Economy and Your Workforce: Why It Matters Now

The global economy will continue to experience its ups and downs, but most economists seem to agree that we have recovered from the recession of 2008-2010 and the U.S. economy, in particular, has made a strong comeback. From a labor perspective, unemployment is down, job openings are up, and consumer confidence has increased. That’s all good news, right? A closer look tells us that there are some interesting trends that are worth watching. Companies should be aware of how these economic factors are impacting the retention of their current workforce and the availability of new employees. As unemployment declines, survival rates also decline. Based on research by Cornerstone/Evolv, a 5% drop in unemployment translates into a 15-10% decline in new hire tenure in the first 6 months. These results indicate new hires are not sticking around as long in their jobs. A stronger economy means more opportunities in the job market, and correspondingly, there is a heightened confidence among workers to look at and consider those options. As consumer confidence increases, so does the number of people voluntarily leaving their jobs. Since 2010, there has been a 60% increase in the number of quits, versus layoffs and discharges, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics July 2015 report. As the economy improves, workers who have felt locked in during the recession will now consider making a career move. The unemployment rate remains higher than pre-2007 recession levels for the same level of job openings. A key driver for this gap could be a mis-match in skills of the workforce with the skills and knowledge required in the jobs that have been created. Slow U.S. labor productivity growth also may reflect the erosion of skills of available workers. Business leaders are concerned about the availability of key skills, and are looking for a broader set of skills today than in the past. (source: PWC Global CEO Survey, 2015) Why It Matters These economic trends are important for your organization to consider, as they could be a significant external force impacting your new hire tenure, overall employee retention, and the ability to identify and hire qualified workers in a timely manner. Forward thinking companies must address and mitigate these impacts by taking the following proactive steps: Utilizing predictive, behavioral assessments to ensure the best match between an applicant’s skills and behavioral ’fit’ for a job, in comparison to what’s required to be successful in the position . Adopting advanced and predictive analytics to better enable the company to anticipate trends and identify risk factors driving productivity and retention. Development of internal expertise to ensure the proper business application of talent analytics results. As is generally the case, there is never a ’silver bullet’ to addressing macro-economic impacts on your business. That said, Companies can absolutely bolster how they insulate themselves from the impacts of external influences on the workforce by adopting and applying predictive analytics in their people management processes. Doing so helps empower organizations to proactively identify, monitor, and act accordingly to internal and external triggers, and prescriptively adjust their talent strategies to the ebbs and flows of the global economic forces.

Cornerstone for retail

Retailers face critical business challenges today including: rising fuel prices, a stagnant economy and increased competition for consumers. A well-trained, committed workforce is critical to thriving in the marketplace and key to differentiating your business from thousands of competitors. Cornerstone OnDemand’s unified talent management solution makes it easy to recruit, manage, engage, and educate, every employee. Designed to help both traditional brick and mortar stores and e-commerce sites, the Cornerstone solution empowers retail organizations with the right tools to grow their talent pipelines, manage staffing and competencies, and deliver training—all from a single, secure location. Retailers face critical business challenges today including: rising fuel prices, a stagnant economy and increased competition for consumers. A well-trained, committed workforce is critical to thriving in the marketplace and key to differentiating your business from thousands of competitors. Cornerstone OnDemand’s unified talent management solution makes it easy to recruit, manage, engage, and educate, every employee. Designed to help both traditional brick and mortar stores and e-commerce sites, the Cornerstone solution empowers retail organizations with the right tools to grow their talent pipelines, manage staffing and competencies, and deliver training—all from a single, secure location.